Easy Like Sunday Morning
by JLaLa
Summary: "These easy Sundays where Katniss hunts and Peeta sleeps in my arms." Gale ruminates over what brought him back to District 12. Canon Divergent Everlarkthorne.


A little something new for all of us.

The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

" _Why in the world would anybody put chains on me?  
I've paid my dues to make it…" –The Commodores  
_  
Easy Like Sunday Morning

"Gale." A small hand goes to my shoulder, shaking me until I open my eyes and am greeted with the warm greys of my best friend. Katniss gives me a smile, the beginning of the sunrise rising behind her from the window of my bedroom. "I'm taking off."

My eyes go to the swell that her hand rests on. "You going to be alright out there?"

"I can still get under the fence," she responds in exasperation though a small smile graces her lips. "I'm having a child. I'm not completely incapacitated." Her gaze goes to the wall opposite my bed. "He had a tough night. Be sure to check on him?"

"Of course," I tell her and smile.

Leaning down, Katniss reaches to brush my hair away from my forehead before placing a gentle kiss on my lips. The taste of tea—decaf since Peeta has hidden the caffeinated products from her—and sugar awakens my sleepy senses.

"Have a good morning," she whispers against my mouth before leaving, delicate footsteps going down the stairs.

I already know that Katniss is grabbing her bow and arrows which I placed by the door last night for her, then throwing on her father's hunting jacket, and heading out the door. Outside, she will water the primroses in the front yard, the very ones that had me almost running back to District 2 when I first arrived three years ago.

My best friend is a creature of habit, routine being a means to keep some semblance of normalcy in our otherwise strange lives. It means much more to her now that she's having a baby. According to her mother, Katniss is nesting. Peeta and I will just have to deal while she figures out what kind of home she wants to create for the baby.

Hearing the front door close, I sit up before rising from bed and head out into the hall. The door next to mine is slightly ajar and pressing my palm to the wood, I let myself into the bedroom. The boy—I will forever see him as one because of his youthful smile—remains asleep even as the room fills with soft light filtering through his and Katniss' silk curtains.

I slip into the bed stealthily, my arms wrapping around his strong waist. Peeta rests back against my chest, his breaths soft and still deep in slumber. My lips go to his neck and my eyes go to the dark circles under his eyes.

Even now, Peeta Mellark still has his moments of weakness; moments where he will have to grip the end of a table until the terrors have ebb. Moments where his gaze will go cold looking at Katniss.

However in those moments are where I see Peeta's true strength. For all the warring in his mind, he finds his way back to Katniss…back to me. Before I thought, ' _That is the man I want to become_ '. Peeta, in all his goodness, understood my feelings for Katniss. He never kept me away from her instead inviting me into their home even when Katniss rallied against it, even refusing to come out for my welcome dinner which he had meticulously prepared for the three of us.

We ate together in silence, my mouth full of warm bread as I watched Peeta cut into the delicate game that he cooked.

I had set myself to hate Peeta Mellark for having taken Katniss from me. In the end, she was never mine to begin with. The bombs that I had helped Beetee create that ultimately killed Prim only solidified this fact for me. Katniss knew even before the bombs went off; she had long chose Peeta.

You see, Katniss and I were born from the same ashes. Both heated and willful, stubborn to a fault, and loyal as dogs. She was smart enough to know that in the end, Peeta was what she needed and what she wanted. He was the spring, the sun, and the dandelions that matched his golden locks at a certain light.

I don't know when ' _That is the man I wanted to become_ ' became ' _This is the man I want_ '.

And, it terrified me.

To realize that I'd fallen for the man. A man who, in every which way, was in love with the woman that I was supposed to be in love with. Johanna, who had come to visit me in District 2, had warned me that coming back would not be the same. I was not coming home to the same District 12 because the citizens had changed.

So I did what I thought was right—I got ready to leave.

In the middle of the night, I ready my duffle and quietly walked past their closed door. I was surprised by how much pain I felt leaving them.

After Peeta had welcomed me and Katniss had warmed up to me, I found myself flushed with hope. Together, they personified it. The gentle caresses, the quick kisses, and their happy laughter showed me that in the end, Katniss and Peeta were just two kids pushed into an Arena. Yet somehow they survived and they found a way to heal. They showed Snow that they weren't his pawns—just by continuing to love.

As I stepped out, I was greeted by Katniss who was sitting on the front porch, dressed in only a white nightgown showing off every bit of the woman she had grown into.

"Stay." Even in the darkness, I could hear her pain. "Stay with us, Gale."

"Why?"

"Because this is your home," she responded simply.

"District 12 is not my home." I gripped tighter onto the strap of my tote. "Let me go."

" _We_ can't."

I can't say that my breath didn't hitch nor can I deny that I let her bring me back into the house. It was Katniss who led me to their room and pushed me to the middle of the mattress as Peeta slept so beautifully.

It was my best friend who wrapped her arms around my waist, pressing her head to my back.

"Did you think you could hide from me?" she whispered into my skin. "You're my best friend, Gale. We are one in the same. When you look at him, I can feel your heart race. Because mine does the same."

I crawled into myself, trying to cover up the truth.

Then his hand reached to my cheek and I opened my tight eyes to Peeta's gentle blues.

"You're staying," he declared steadily.

"Alright," I agreed.

Behind me, Katniss chuckled over the lack of a fight.

And by the next morning, I had been kissed by them both—and I had decided to stay.

Even after all this time, there is still talk. When Katniss announced her pregnancy, it was greeted with mixed reactions by the townspeople. They still speculate over who is the baby's father.

While it is none of their business, the baby growing inside Katniss belongs to Peeta.

Because we live by our rules, they're needed in such an unconventional household.

I choose not to pleasure Katniss in certain ways. Peeta in all terms of the word is her partner and the only one that she allows inside her. I respect that and Peeta appreciates it. However during those nights together, when our hunger can't be ignored, it is Katniss' mouth on me and Peeta inside. I'm not lacking in sexual gratification; I have the most giving of partners.

In this new Panem, in this new District 12, in this new life we've fought for, we're still trying to find ourselves.

Haymitch has turned a blind eye, knowing that rules were never Katniss and Peeta's forte. In turn, we all keep our mouths shut whenever Johanna comes around to shake her head at us before disappearing into his house for days on end.

She always leaves walking a little funny.

I know it will all be changing soon. The baby is getting bigger. Katniss felt him or her move for the first time just last night as Peeta and I painted the nursery a lovely shade of soft green—Katniss' favorite color.

By the time their child is old enough, I will be Uncle Gale who lives in the room next door.

We haven't gotten to point where we know what we'll tell their child, especially when he or she gets to puberty. It will be a pivotal time, full of hormones and new budding feelings. How will we explain ourselves?

We have no idea.

So for now, we will enjoy this small moment in time.

These easy Sundays where Katniss hunts and Peeta sleeps in my arms.

They won't be easy for long.

I don't know how long I've been asleep when his mouth is suddenly on mine. He tastes of Katniss' tea and before even opening my eyes, I know she had returned.

Sure enough, I open my eyes to Peeta looking over his shoulder at me and Katniss pressed against him, no longer in her hunting clothes.

Actually, not in any clothes.

Her cleavage peeks out from where her chest rests on his, olive skin intermingling with Peeta's slight tan, causing my morning erection to awaken.

Peeta grins boyishly. "Good dream?"

I smile back, my lips going to his hair and my arm reaching for Katniss so I could bring us closer together.

"It is."

 **FIN.**


End file.
